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Report: Poorest U.S. Minorities at Highest Risk of Chemical Accidents

"Americans at highest risk from accidents at chemical plants are largely from minority communities and are disproportionately poor — and industries and regulators are failing to take measures to make their situation any safer, according to a new study.

These 'fenceline zones' are places where chances are highest for death or injury after a chemical accident, and the demographics of these areas form a 'pattern of ‘environmental racism,’' according to the report, released Wednesday by three environmental groups.

'The percentage of blacks in the fenceline zones is 75 percent greater than for the U.S. as a whole, while the percentage of Latinos in the fenceline zones is 60 percent greater than for the U.S. as a whole,' the study, released by the Environmental Justice and Health Alliance for Chemical Policy Reform, Coming Clean, and the Center for Effective Government, said."